15 Times Cheryl Blossom Was Hotter Than Betty And Veronica

Some say that blondes have more fun, others love the sultry dark hair of a brunette, sometimes paired with glasses for that coveted librarian look. When it comes to preferences over looks, it’s a good thing that tastes are as individual as they are or everyone would be competing over the same three percent of people.

In the world of Archie Comics it would be easy to believe that everyone has the exact same taste, particularly because of the similarities in drawn features, and body types of just about every character. The same could be said of so many people and their penchant for a fairly average ginger haired teen. Maybe there’s something in the Riverdale drinking water.

Either way, for years it was always about Betty vs. Veronica. The blonde against the brunette, the good girl next door versus the rich socialite— this drama plagued Riverdale for years. Then the folks at Archie introduced another character, a fiery redhead named Cheryl Blossom, to periodically turn the classic love triangle into more of a love square. While Cheryl isn’t present in every issue, or most plotlines, she certainly creates some friction wherever she goes. Here are 15 times when Cheryl Blossom was way hotter than Betty and Veronica combined!

15.When She Introduced Herself To The Gang By Going Topless At The Beach

Cheryl Blossom was introduced to the Riverdale gang in 1982, in Betty and Veronica 320 and immediately began making waves. When Cheryl suggested, “Maybe it’s time to shake them up around here. Somebody’s got to make a start!” Goody-two shoes Betty Cooper was quick to make Cheryl keep her itsy bitsy bikini top on. Cheryl simply called out Betty for being a spoil sport. Perhaps being a redhead has something to do with Cheryl’s initial instinct for taking off her top. Research reveals that redheads are more sensitive to both hot and cold pain, so maybe Betty should have minded her own beeswax and this was just Cheryl’s way of cooling down on a hot summer day.

14.Because She Isn’t Afraid To Make Waves As The New Girl

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Being the new girl can be intimidating, but confidence has never been a problem for Cheryl who is the daughter of a wealthy computer software engineer and isn’t afraid to show off in front of a crowd. Some folks may suggest that this confidence comes straight from her crimson locks. A famous quote from Playboy magazine suggests that, “Redheads are like other women – only more so” and it definitely feels this way whenever Cheryl steals the spotlight from Betty, Veronica, or anyone else who gets in her way. A Clairol Color Attitude survey showed that 71 percent of redheads were self-described as bold, putting them 24 percent above blondes, sorry Betty!

13.When She Became Head Cheerleader

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In the first episode of the series Riverdale, which premiered in early 2017, it didn’t take viewers long to figure out that Cheryl Blossom is a bonafide mean girl. She leads the pep squad, The River Vixens, with the confidence and cruelty that screams Regina George of Mean Girls fame. Blossom wants her cheerleaders fit, fabulous, and hot, just like herself, and it’s quickly clear that one of the primary talents of everyone permitted on the squad is how they fill out the uniform. When Cheryl uses her position of power to bully Betty about her sister and tryouts, Veronica steps in for her saying, “Betty and I come as a matching set”. This confirms the trifecta of three of the best looking girls in the school cheering on the football team in perfect “All American” Archiesm.

12.She Has An Oral Fixation

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There is something about Cheryl that screams sexuality. Many would say that it’s not possible for someone who’s usually portrayed in drawings to have such distinctive body language, but Cheryl’s posture, even when it’s just a few lines with a pen just screams sensuality. Most of the time Cheryl is seen, particularly when she’s trying to get attention of others, she’s touching her mouth. Whether she means it or not, and the more we know about Cheryl the more likely it is that she knows what she’s doing, she’s drawing a lot of attention to her pouty red lips. Cheryl certainly wasn’t born yesterday! A Clairol Color Attitude survey revealed that 49 percent of those polled believe that blondes are naïve, while a mere 15 percent felt this way about redheads like Cheryl.

11.When She Showed A Dark And Mysterious Side

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There is certainly more to Cheryl Blossom than meets the eye. She always seems to be plotting something in Riverdale, and you never quite understand her intentions. In an early episode of Riverdale Kevin Kelly aptly described Cheryl and her “acting” abilities, “This year, though, it’s all about Cheryl trying to win the Best Supporting Psycho Oscar for her role as Riverdale High’s bereaved Red Widow.” Even Mark Twain has described redheads as somewhat mythical creatures stating, “while the rest of the human race are descended from monkeys, redheads derive from cats.” Cheryl is somewhat of an onion and doesn’t wear her feelings on her sleeves like Betty does, and isn’t afraid to change her PR strategy on the flip of a dime.

10.She Was Too Hot For Archie, And Even Got Pulled From The Comic

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While Cheryl Blossom and her twin brother Jason Blossom were deliberately placed in Archie Comics in the early 1980s, they were also quickly removed from the series just two years later. One of the reasons the twins were removed from Riverdale was that Cheryl was decidedly way too sexual in nature for what is considered to be a children’s comic. She was brought back in for some minor face time in the very brief series Archie’s Explorers of the Unknown. It was over a decade later in 1994 before Cheryl returned to Riverdale in a more regular rotation, and she has been featured on and off as a firecracker source of Riverdale drama ever since.

9.When She Became A Power Driven Sea Witch

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It’s no secret that a lot of women like to get a little raunchy and sassy in their costumes come Halloween, and there’s nothing quite like a bad girl who can make a villain costume look very appealing. In Betty & Veronica 267 there was a re-imagination of the Disney story the Little Mermaid where Betty and Veronica portrayed step-sister mermaids vying for Prince Eric (Archie’s) affection. Who better to play a sexy version of Ursula the Sea Witch than Cheryl? This isn’t the only time that people thought redheads were bad guys. Ancient Greeks used to believe that redheads would become vampires after they died, so maybe we’ll get a Twilight version of Archie Comics sometime in the future. I know I’d read it.

8.When She Dressed Up Like Marilyn Monroe

While many would think Betty would be the natural fit to dress up as Marilyn Monroe, it was Cheryl Blossom who donned the iconic white dress. A lesser known fact about Monroe was that although she was known for her blonde locks and curves, she herself was really a natural redhead like Blossom. In the cover of the issue where Cheryl stands over a sewer grate as her dress billows, both Betty and Veronica are standing on the sidelines glaring. Archie, naturally, is hard-core lusting after Cheryl with literal hearts popping out of his girl-crazed head, adding even more fuel to the other two beauties’ fire.

7.When Her Return To Riverdale Became Archie’s Dirty Little Secret

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In the TV series Riverdale, Cheryl isn’t kidding that her Twitter handle is @cherylbombshell— she’s always set off a number of fireworks around town. Back in 1994, Cheryl was also capable of making sparks fly around town. When Cheryl was reintroduced to Riverdale, writers made sure that her homecoming suited her jealousy inducing tendency. In a four-part series called “Love Showdown” Archie gets a letter from Cheryl announcing that she’s coming back to Riverdale. Archie, who is crushing on Cheryl decides to keep this information under his hat, and deliberately avoids telling both Betty and Veronica and is pointedly distracted. This change in Archie makes both Betty and Veronica believe the other is “up to something” and begin competing directly for ginger boy’s affection.

6.When She Became Superhero Blaze Blossom

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There’s something hot about anyone in uniform and Cheryl Blossom is no exception to this rule. In the 1980s series Archie’s Explorers of the Unknown, she is the Superhero Blaze Blossom. In the 2013 Zombie Archie Comics, Afterlife with Archie, she takes on a much darker version of the same hero. In the comic, Jason is really jealous of Archie and the way he impacts their close twin relationship. All Jason wants is to grow old with his sister with no one else interfering or judging their unique friendship. In Issue seven of the series Cheryl comes back from scouting with Jason alone and covered in blood. She insists that she should now be called, “Blaze” and so a superhero is born.

5.She Was Practically A Spice Girl

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Ginger Spice Geri Halliwell isn’t the only redhead with UK roots. Queen Elizabeth had crimson coloured hair and many people in the Tudor bloodline also have red hair. While Cheryl Blossom isn’t royalty, or British; earlier versions of Archie Comics reveal that she, like many other redheads, has Scottish family roots. She steps in to replace a pop princess when she’s recruited to be in the band known as “the Sugar Girls”. In the issue it’s a very obvious nod to the Spice Girls and Halliwell’s departure from the band, and Cheryl joins when Ginger Sugar leaves.

4.Cause Redheads Really Have More Fun

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Cheryl Blossom is unapologetic about her approach to life. She is bold and wild, just like her cherry coloured hair. This representation of her could be considered fairly accurate to real life, since redheads may be a little more sexual than people with other coloured hair. Maybe that’s why everyone digs Archie Andrews so much. A research study conducted in Germany discovered that women who have red hair get busy more often than people with other coloured hair. Another study conducted in England found that ladies with crimson locks got busy between the sheets an average of three times each week, whereas the Bettys and Veronicas of the world only had sex on average twice a week. Unfortunately no men were surveyed, because we’re dying to know how much of a player Archie really is!

3.Her Competitive Nature Sparks Betty’s And Veronica’s To The Next Level

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In the comics Cheryl’s impact on Betty and Veronica is noted, but a little more subtly. She turns the pair against each other and her, as the two use super soakers against one other, dance dirty, and at one point even commit fraud to compete with her. While sometimes redheads are portrayed as being hot headed, there is no real proof of this, and Cheryl has a tendency to cause dramatic flair rather through calculated measures as a slow burning flame instead of a full on explosion.

In an early episode of Riverdale, Cheryl infuriates Veronica to the point of an impassioned speech, “I know what you need, Cheryl, because I know who you are. You would rather people fear than like you, so you traffic in terror and intimidation. You’re rich, so you’ve never been held accountable. But, I’m living proof. That certainty, that entitlement, you wear on your head like a crown? It won’t last. Eventually, there will be a reckoning. You wanted fire? Sorry, Cherylbombshell, my specialty’s ice.”

2.She’s One Half Of An “Evil” Twin Duo

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People are intrigued with twins because they are rare, with only three percent of the population being twins, similar to the odds of someone having red hair. In the print versions of Archie, Jason Blossom is a rich and spoiled brat who says he only dates other wealthy girls, but he’s also known to pursue Betty Cooper. In the TV series Riverdale, Jason is romantically connected to Betty’s now unstable sister Polly. The bond of the Blossom twins really has an unsettling Flowers in the Attic feel to it, both in the comic and on the show. Both twins are decidedly mean, but their relationship with each other is tight and a little unsettling. The twin bond between the Blossom siblings is shown as the two hold hands in their final moments together before the tragic boating accident. In a later episode, Cheryl confesses, “I’m guilty” showing that she may have had some involvement in her brother’s death.

1.She’s A Self-Proclaimed Bad Girl

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Cheryl is unapologetically herself, even if that’s the biggest, baddest version of her. She wears bright red colours to draw attention to her, and everything she does is manipulatively planned. She doesn’t ask for permission she simply takes, whether it’s a spot at the lunch table or someone else’s boyfriend. The bad girl has the same kind of appeal, as the bad boy, but since so many women feel pressured to be a lot more like Betty Cooper we often only see flashes of bright red badness. While her manipulative behaviour and creepy relationship with her brother would never make her a leading lady for a good guy like Archie Andrews, there’s no question that she’s highly capable of stealing the spotlight and gaining some praise for her Jessica Rabbit appeal.